September 22, 2012

Lebensraum and China

China’s noisy revival of its claim to the Senkaku or Diouyu islands looks to be the thin end of a wedge pointed towards and perhaps even beyond Okinawa, location of major US military bases. As in its disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea, China is using its version of history as well as its naval power to promote claims which once seemed merely theoretical.

Nationalism and populism are attractive during hard times because they give some people a scapegoat to blame the bad times on, such as European far-right parties blaming immigrants for the eurozone debt woes. It also gives some... more ››

Despite the presence of some officials in the mix, and what may be their significant role in guiding the proceedings, there should be no doubting that there are also plenty of ordinary people joining in, expressing real passion... more ››

The Japanese call them the Senkaku Islands, the Chinese refer to them as Diaoyu. Let me suggest a more appropriate name: Goat Islands. Goats are all you will find on the cluster of uninhabited rocks over which the Japanese and... more ››